Seam pressing machine



Aug.. 15, 1933.

Filed July 6, 192s.

PatentedAug.; 15, `1933 g UNITED ,STATES PATENT IOFI-"1ct:

s s s i 1,922,286 i *s snAMY raEssING MACHINE `William Hamann,Irondequoit, N. Y., assigner l to United Shoe Machinery Corporation,Paterson, N. J., a Corporation of New Jersey Application'July 6, 1928.Serial No.` 290,806 19 Claims. (Cl.`223-28) This invention relates toseam pressing maf. i chines and is herein illustrated as embodied in;`

a seam pressing machine ofthe type disclosed in Letters Patentof theUnited States No. 1,833,-

930, granted on December 1,` 1931, uponanapplication led in the name of,George Boulton.

It is customary, during the usual operation of seam pressing machineswhen Yoperating upon certain classes of work, for `the 'work `to bebacked out instead of being fed past the entire work-engaging surface ofthe ironing block.

The rapidity with which work of this sort mayV be passed through kthemachine depends, in a large measure, lupon the facility with which theoperator may retract the ironing block from the work-supporting feedroll, thereby freeing the work so that itmay be withdrawn inl `the mostconvenient manner. In machines of the type shown in the patent `referredto, a seam ironing block is spring pressed toward a rotatingWork-supporting roll and may be retracted from the roll by depressing atreadle which is connected with the ironing block in such away that thedepression of the treadle, which is ac- 2 companied by a deection of thespring, is

resistedby the spring pressure upon the ironing block. i c

In View ofthe foregoing, and in accordance backing out of` the work inthe manner before referred to is facilitated by means for retracting theironing block without moving or effectl ing, and hence withoutenergizing, the resilient means which urges the `block toward the worl;

supporting roll. To this end, in the illustrated machine means forretracting the ironing block, which means normally transmits thepressure of the resilientmeans to the ironing block, is constructed andarranged to relieve the pressure of` the resilient means as the blockisretractedg` but the above is accomplished without removing the stress`from the resilient` means. As shown, this ironing block"retractingmeans is interposed between-the resilient `means and the ironing blockand comprises a toggle mechanism which is operable by a substantiallyconstant `force irrespective of the strain in said resilient meanssuccessively to relieve the presand to `retract the ironing block from"its opwith a feature of the present invention, the" sureof the resilientmeans on the ironing blocktically negligiblebut constant amount ofeffort regardless ofthe resilient `force urging ittoward the feed roll.i The illustrated embodiment of theinvention, including otherfeaturesnot heretofore speci.- 60. cally pointed out, will nowbeldescribed,reference being `had to the accompanying drawing, in which I i i l Fig.l is a sectionalelevation of `a machine embodying the invention; v Fig.2 is a sectional -view vtaken along the line II--II of Fig. 1; and l .lFig, 3 is a perspective View, partly broken away, o f the work support.

The illustrated seam pressing machine, which 70l may be used forpressing seams in articles made y of cloth or leather, is adapted topress the seams in caps and is provided with a work-supporting feed roll4, `a stationary vwork support 6 arranged to cover portions of the feedroll and support l the work as it is being presented to the machine,

Vai seam-opening plow 8 having `on each side thereof a seam-guidinglinger 10, and a heated` presser member or ironing block 12. The plow 8y l is carried by a verticalrod 14 which is slid-80- able in guidewaysformedin lugs 16, 18 projecting from the frame of the machine. A spring20 surroundingthe rod 14,` between thev lugl and a collar `22 fixed on.the`rod, urges the plow i downwardly and tends to hold the plow in alposition `determined byan adjusting nut 24 on the upper end ofthe rodand arranged to engage the lug 16. The seam-guiding iingers` 10 comprisethin, resilient strips the ,upper Yends of which are Xed to the upperportion ofthe plow 8 bymeans of screws such as l26 and are'ad- Vjustablesidewise by means of screws 28 the innerv ends of which engage thecentral portion ofthe plow member. By adjusting the seam guiding fingersthey may be made the better toaccommodate varying thicknesses and kindsof work; l. Y"

Apresser-foot 30 is provided with a yokeshaped member `having rearwardlycurved arms arranged to straddle the plow and the seam- 1`guidingfiingers and carrying atthe lower end of l each'ofdts arms afreely rotatable roll 32 the. periphery of which engages that of theworksupporting feed roll 4'V at either side thereof. The presser-foot 30is secured to the lower Aend 10 ofa Vertical rod 34 mounted` foryielding, sliding `movement in guideways formed one in an extension ofthe lug 16 and the otherin a lug 36. The presser-foot 30 isurgeddownwardly toward the work, and isadapted to be held in 110,

nions 6.0 (FgtrZ).

yielding, feeding engagement therewith, by means of a spring 38encircling the rod 34 between the lug 16 and a collar 40 adjustablyfixed on the rod. As shown, a nut 42, threaded on the upper` end of therod 34, is adapted to engage the upper side of the lug 16 adjustably tolimit the downward movement ofL the pressen foot toward the feed roll.

In the illustrated machine, for the purpose of lifting the plow with theguiding fingers and the presser-foot with the ironing block so as-tofacilitate the backing of the work out of the machine, extensions 44, 46projectv rearwardly from the collar and plow 8respectiv-ely, and

into the path of movement4 of thecollanZZ andl a forward portion 48 ofthe-ironingblock 12,v respectively.

By the above-described means, the presser-foot and the plow withtheguiding ngers are retracted substantially simultaneouse ly with aretractive movement of the ironing block, .therebyr providingV ai clear.passage for withdrawing. the work; fromr beneaththe ironing block. p

The-illustrated work support; 6.; has a surface which is substantiallyspherical in form Vand covers the feed roll 4v in such` al manner as toeliminate the danger'of oil or grease from its bearings reaching thework. The work..support 6 is clamped tothe frameA of the machine bymeans of a screw 50 whichV passes through an elongated slot 52v int a=web. 54- (Fig. '3), allowing the support to be adjusted-,heightwiseol'the feed-roll..

Except in certain respectshereinafterj pointed out,the construction andarrangementy ofy the par-ts ofthe present machine` as thus fardescribedv aresubstantially the same as those of the correspondingpartsin the machine shown andy described in. the patent hereinbef'ore re.-l

ferred to; l

Aslembodied in the. machine herein describedi the ironing block- 12. isysecured to a carrier" 56 which isvslidably: mounted in. a guide 58pivoted to the frame of the machine by` means of trun- 'Ifhe reducedend'of a screw 62(Fig. 1) carried by'the guide 58r engages a leyway v64in theA carrier 56, thereby to: prevent rotation of t-he carrierrelatively-1 to` the guide. The guidel 58- may beheld in any' adjustedposition by means of.r av screw 66-v engaging .the frame and passing`through an arcuate slot 68k in anupstanding lug 70 integral with theguide' 58; A'spring A7-2 is coiled about and. abutsthe lower end ofH arod 741 slidably mounted in a bushingV '76 having threaded engagementwith the frame as at 7.8 and adapted tov be'locked to the frame by acheck nutv 80. A nut 82 and check= nutv34 are threaded upon the upper.end' of the rod '74- adjustably to limit the: downward displacement ofthe rod '74' and hence toY regulate thef strain in the; spring; 72.interposed between the lower end of the bushing '76 andf the' upper endot the spring 72 is oneA extremity. of

a lever 86- which is pivotedV to the frame aboutY V11) mounted in theframe of the machine.

and that the resistance offered to the work by the ironing block may beregulated by altering the position oi the nuts 62 and 84 on the end ofthe rod 74 which resists any downward i'orce of the spring 72 impartedto it through the arm 86, the toggle 90, Q2, the carrier 56 and theironing bloclr 12, on account oi being lifted by the work as it passesthereunder.

`The carrier 56 and the guide 58 are slotted, asat 106 and 102, toaccommodate the toggle link 92 and an arm 104 which is connected at oneend with the knuckle joint 94 of the toggle and at the other end to anarm 106, as shown atV 1108. The arm 106 is fixed upon a rock shaft Anarm 112 is iixedto the end of the rock shaft 110, at the rear of themachine, and may be operated by a treadleY (not shown) through a rod 114which connects the arm 112 with the treadlc which may be depressed toretract the ironing block with a minimum of eiort on the part of thevoperator since the strain in the spring 72 is notA materially alteredwhen the toggle is broken. kA suitable guard such as 116 is providedAupon each side of the ironing block'. to pre vent accidental'contacttherewith.

Xn* opere. on, the work., such s i stance, placed display side down ovf-.v support'V 6 so that an upstanding projection 1 upon its top portieriengagesthe vertex yoil-.h3 5"' seamto be vircssed.. As the work the plow8, the upstandingmargins of the .seam are di.` rooted between theVinturned lower of 'the guide lingers 10. At this point the wor to passundenieath the roll 32, thereby f inV feeding the werk to the ironingbloc 1 seam is of short length; er ii" for any other reason it is notdesired to'vieed the w entire work engaging face of' the nv i, theironing block be quickly nd eas tracted byxthe operator andl by a slightp; on the treadlovhieh substantially cone" respective breaking; erative.

and, through the arm 104, wi 94 oi' the toggle 9", 92 in the i arm 10.4.soon the toggle -.sil are moved out of alinement t .e spring 72, actingthro the lever S6, will assist the operator in coll'. ing the'toggleuntil the end of the le the inner end vof the bushing 76. treadlepressure, eat enough l, the weight ofi'L nd the r ofl the presser -dplow l0, the complet "actionV oi the ope whereby the work. may easily beremoved from the machine.

While nogreat amount of i'orce is 1 retract tlreironing bloc lustratedmentioned patent, continued and eration of the treadle of the abermachine beccmeswearisome to 'the oner...tor bcfore the completion ofa dys w 1m Vious, in View of the foreg illustrated 'ino hine, that vthe blotracted by means theftoggle tif.` anism associated therewith without ethe spring 72, and` hence the amount oi quired of the operator in theuse of the ma is relatively slight.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new and desiretosecure by Letters PatY ent of the United States is: l

1. In a seamfironing machine, a work` support an ironing bloclna presserfoot, resilient means normally urging saidiblock toward said support,

andmeans constructed and arranged to retract boththe block and thepresser foot without moving said resilient means. i l

V12. In seam'ironing machine, a work-supporting feed roll, an `ironingblock, resilient means "urging said block toward said roll, meanswhereby-,the pressure of the block` against the work on the roll may beregulated, and means constructed and arranged to be operable'bysubstantially `a` constant force',v irrespective of i the stress in saidresilient means, to retract said block from its operative position. i i

3. In a seam ironing machine, a worksupport, an ironing lblock. mountedfor movement toward and from said support, an adjustable stop, means forurging said block toward said support, and means connecting saidlast-mentioned means and said block arranged to engage said stop wherebythe movement` of the block toward'the support Vis limited.

4. In a seam ironing machine, a Wo1'l:-sup porting feed roll, an ironingblock, resilient means urging said bloclr toward said roll, means forregulating the pressure of the block against the work on the, roll, andmeans interposed between the block and said resilient means andconstructed and arranged to be operable by substantially aconstant'force, irrespective of the stress in said resilient means, toretract said bloclr from its operative position.

5. In a seam ironing machine, a work-supporting feed roll, an ironing`block, resilient and away from said support, a stop, resilient means forurging said block toward said support,

a toggle for retracting said block fromsaid support, means for operatingsaid toggle constructed and arranged normallyto hold said toggle in y,straightened position, `and means connecting said toggle and resilientmeans arranged to engage said stop wherebythe proximal position of saidbloclz with respect to said support is limited.

'7. Ina seam ironing machine, a work support an ironing block, means foroperating said block comprising lever and links connecting the leverand'block, and resilient means normally urging said block towards saidsupport, said resilient means being arranged to engage said lever.

8. In a seamV ironing machine, a work supuport, an ironing block,resilient means normally urging said block toward said support, `a stopfor limiting the proximal position of the block with respect to thesupport, a toggle `for retracting said block, and a lever connectingsaid -toggle and resilient means, one end of said lever being disposedbetween said stop and resilient means. f

9.` In a seam ironing machine, in combination, ar feed roll, a pivotallymounted ironing block,

'resilient means normally urging said block toward said roll, and meanscomprising a toggle and a treadle mechanism operatively associated'therewith for rendering said resilient means in-` operative withoutmaterially relieving the strain 4in said resilient means.V

i 10. In a `seam ironing machine, in combination, a feed roll,`apivotally mountedironing block, resilient means normally urging saidblock toward said roll, and means comprising a toggle and a treadlemechanism operatively associated i therewith forretracting said blockfrom said rollvvithout a` substantial alteration in the strain insaidresilient means; i

l11.In a seam ironing machine, in combination, a feed roll, a plvotallymounted ironing block, resilient meansnormally urging said block towardsaid roll, and means `interposed between said block and said resilientmeans comprising a toggle and a treadle mechanism operativelyas'soelatedy therewith for retracting said block with.- out energizingsaid resilient means.

i 12.In a seam` ironing machine, a `work-.sup-

porting feed roll, an ironing block, a lever, av

movement of the lever in the opposite direction,

collapsible `but normally rigid connections between the lever and thepresser block constructed and arranged to retract said block withoutmoving said lever, and means for collapsing said normally `rigidconnections.

14. In a seam ironing machine, a Work-sup- ',porting feed roll, apressure-foot and seam-opening means in juxtaposition thereto, anironing block, resilient means normally urging said block toward saidrollfmeans comprising a toggle and a treadle mechanism operativelyassociated Vtherewith for retracting said blocl: without energizingsaidresilient means, and extensions on the seam-opening means and'pressure-footprotruding into the path of movement of the ironingblockandthe seam-opening means respecg tively whereby said presser-foot andseam-open- Ving means are retracted with the iron block.

l5. In'a seam ironing machine, a work-sup porting feed roll, apresserdoot and seameopernA of movement of the ironing` block and theseamopening means respectively whereby said presserfoot and seam-openingmeans are retracted with the block.

16. In a seam ironing machine, a work sup port, an ironing means,resilient means for causing pressure against said ironing means to urgeit toward the support, means for adjustably limf iting the movementofthe ironing means toward the support, a lever for operating saidironing means arranged normally to abut said last-mentioned means, andlinks connecting the said lever and ironing means constructed and "meansand presser-foot protruding into the path arranged to transmit'theyielding pressure of said yielding means from the lever tothe ironingmeans.

`17. In a seam ironing machine, a Workrsupport, a heated ironing block,seam guiding means, resilient means normally yurging said block towardsaid support, means for successively krelieving the pressure betweensaidresilient'means andsaid block and for retracting said block andconnections between said block and 4said guiding means for causing theguiding means to be retracted with the block in order to facilitate theremoval of work from the machine.

18. In a seam ironing machine, a workl support, an ironing means,resilient means normally urged said ironing means toward said Worksupport, and means for transmitting the pressure of said resilient meansto said ironing means comprising a lever and links connecting said leverand ironing means constructed and arranged to relieve the pressurebetween the block and the resilient means Without removing the stressfrom the resilient means.

19. In a seam ironing machine, a work support, an ironing block, apresser foot, means for urging said block toward said support, and meansincluding a toggle mechanism constructed and arranged to retract theblock from the work support Without altering the stress in saidresilient means, said presser foot having an extension arranged toengage said block as it is retracted whereby said block and presser footare retracted simultaneously.

WILLIAM HAMANN.

